11 5 February 2015 | year 57
Biweekly magazine of the Eindhoven University of Technology For the latest news: www.cursor.tue.nl/en and follow @TUeCursor_news on
All new Master’s programs approved
Not open access? No Annual Prize TU/e 28 January - Master students and PhD candidates wishing to qualify this year for the Doctoral Awards of TU/e must ensure that they have made their thesis or dissertation freely accessible to the general public. The relevant resolution was adopted by the Executive Board last Month. By doing so the university is in line with the Dutch policy of encouraging ‘open access’ publication. The new requirement does not apply to reports of PDEng candidates. In order to provide theses or disser tations with the ‘open access’ label it is enough to submit them digitally to the Information Expertise Center. The document will then be archived in the so-called Repository of TU/e.
Dedication Sa attended by mgrada any 27 Januar
and tuecursor on
28 January - The Master’s degree programs within the TU/e Graduate School have all been approved. On Thursday January 22 the Executive Board gave its formal approval. Most Master’s programs will look considerably different as of September 2015. They will comprise 120 credits, of which 30 at most may be timetabled for required courses. Furthermore, students will choose a number of specialist courses in consultation with their mentors or supervisors and must be able to follow free elective courses at Master’s level for at least 15 ECTS (no permission required). At least 15 credits must be earned through international experience and a final project must have a total of 30 and/or 45 credits. In addition, all courses have a load of 5 credits. The exception is that at most one-third of the elective courses can have a load of 2.5 credits. Until September 2017 courses totaling 3 ECTS will be allowed, but only so for non-required courses. Master’s courses will be given and completed within one quartile.
TU/e getting ready for paid parking
y - The official op ening of the Sagr ice by Built Envi ada Familia in Ice ronment studen , the basilica m ts in the Finnish was attended by ade of town of Juuka ov some 1,400 peop er the past mon le last Saturday performed as an th, . Opera singer La ‘ice angel’, and urien Schreude the building was orthodox and Lu r de di cated by bishop theran churches s of the Finnish . On Thursday 29 warm welcome January , the bu at TU/e. ilders received a The constructio n is expected to remain until the end of March. The project lead ers might return before that to m easure the construction on ce more and possibly finish the highest tower with the as sistance of Finnish volunt eers.
27 January - Starting March 31, all campus residents will have to pay two euros a day for parking on campus. At campus entrances and exits, the license plate registration system are implemented. Every boom barrier will be fitted with a small camera that recognizes the license plates of visitors coming in and leaving. After every entrance, a so-called e-wallet - a personal parking account for employees - will be charged two euros.
More news on www.cursor.tue.nl/en
Clmn
Life on Campus
“You‘re late ‘even though’ you live at university”, they say. Me: “I ’m late ‘because’ I live at uni”. It’s almost time for lecture but I am still in my bed. The buildings with the lecture halls are all visible from my studio’s window. I tell myself that I am almost there, and then fall asleep again. After all, all we need is ‘a few more minutes’. Thank you, snooze . Living on campus doesn’t simply mean that you get immune to being late by avoiding biking or travelling. Indeed, living on campus is much more to a student than that. All your classes, buildings, on-campus facilities, the sports centre – it’s all on your very doorstep. Still, few things are known to campus residents only. Not having to share the loo and kitchen is sheer luxury. You can always go home for a quick meal
or a nap. Socializing is commonplace, too. Living on campus means having a temporary, convenient storage place for friends’ stuff. Ironically, I never imagined eating, sleeping, and doing my laundry at uni this often. And then I haven’t even mentioned all the chores that come with living in campus. Shortly, and thankfully, we won’t be the only ones enjoying the luxury of campus life. Two new residential towers will be open to students soon. One is Potentiaal and the other will be located at Dommel River. University is bearing in mind there are students on a budget, so Dutch students have a chance to get a home on campus as well, making campus life more diverse. And students don’t mind shared facilities, either. Living on campus is a delightful experience, and they’re all about collecting cherished memories. Talking to several former residents, I unveiled an interesting fact. It’s only the legs that walk away from this place, the heart never does!
Danyal Hai
der, studen Engineerin t of Electrical g
People | 23
See for more news www.cursor.tue.nl/en
And how are things in Helsinki? More and more TU/e students go abroad for their studies to follow courses, internships or a doctorate path. What is it like to find your way in a new country? Students tell their stories.
Helsinki is a great city, and it is the perfect base for trips to places like Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and beautiful Lapland. But, more importantly, I went there to study at Aalto University. It’s a university that enjoys a very high reputation in Finland, but there are two things that Aalto really excels at. One of those is the field of Machine Learning & Data Mining, which happened to be the reason for me to do my Master’s thesis about detecting privacy-sensitive messages on social networks at this university. The second of Aalto’s strengths is the encouragement of entrepreneurship among students. After London, Helsinki is the city with the best investment climate in Europe according to the Foreign Direct Investment index of the Financial Times (Eindhoven also scores well at third place). The campus of Aalto University is situated at the heart of the business district that receives a large part of these investments. The headquarters of Nokia (Microsoft Mobile) is there, but nowadays it’s mostly gaming and mobile app companies that gather a lot of success. For example, Rovio (Angry Birds) and Supercell (Clash of Clans) were both founded by alumni of Aalto University. If that amount of inspiration doesn’t encourage students, then the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society (Aaltoes) will. Aaltoes is the biggest student-driven entrepreneurship community in Europe. Every week there are activities like lectures, pitches, hackathons, network drinks, and sauna parties (Finns can’t do without saunas). But the best part of my time here is the diverse and fascinating group of people that I got to know. Aaltoes is open to everyone, even people who are just curious or want to join fun projects. But beware, because before you know it you’re pitching your own startup idea. It was quite difficult to keep myself from getting too distracted from my master’s thesis.
St Masteefran Patelsk Comput’s student i, Engienre Science o& f ering Would you also like to write an article about your time abroad? Please send an email to cursor@tue.nl.
Read more stories online: www.cursor.tue.nl/en
Life after TU/e Name: Leda Klouda Place of Birth: I was born in Boston, USA, to Greek parents. I grew up mostly in Greece and Germany At TU/e: I studied Biomedical Engineering at TU/e from 2002 to 2004 Current position: Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, USA
What are you doing now? I’m still a researcher. I am currently an Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. After my Master’s at TU/e, I continued with a PhD in Bioengineering at Rice University Houston, Texas. Research in that area has always been interested me. I was equally drawn to industrial and academic research, but right now, academic environment has my preference! I did consider staying at TU/e for my PhD, but in the end, I decided to go to another group in the USA that conducted research in the exact area I was interested in. How do you reflect on your time at TU/e? I studied Biomedical Engineering at TU/e from 2002 to 2004. I was actually the first international Master’s student in this department! At the time, it was one of the few European universities that offered a Master’s program in Biomedical Engineering. TU/e had an excellent reputation, and my program gave me the opportu nity to customize my learning experience keeping in mind my interests. I have to say, being the only non-Dutch student in my class was not easy. Eventually, I learned the language, and learned how to communicate with Dutch people. I enjoyed most of my classes and the laboratory I worked at. Plus, with Eindhov en being in the heart of Europe, there were many opportunities to travel.
What happens to international students after they graduate from TU/e? Do they go job hunting in the Netherlands, pack their bags and explore the world, or return to their home countries? International TU/e graduates talk about their lives after TU/e.
What advice would you give the current students? Make sure you have a general life plan, but be open to serendipity. You never know what great opportunities may come your way when you keep your eyes open! Ask people who have been in your situation before. At TU/e, take advanta ge of all university has to offer, e.g. access to conferences and industry, talking to and learning from professors, fellow students etc. Also, try to learn some Dutch. It will help you in everyday life, and people appreciate it a lot!
24 | Zoom in
The biggest carnival shop in Den Bosch: P.W. Hoofs.
5 February 2015
Zoom in | 25
See for more news www.cursor.tue.nl/en
A Break from the Norm: Carnival celebrations here and elsewhere It’s Carnival season in the Netherlands! Towns are changing their names (Eindhoven = Lampegat or light bulb village) and the locals are busy dreaming up kooky costumes and checking their bank accounts for sufficient beer-buying funds. But even if you don’t have plans to don a purple wig, drink massive amounts of alcohol and take to the streets, you’ll still benefit from the break from the academic grind. Carnival is a beloved tradition in these parts, but do you know the why behind the wackiness? Why do we here in the south of the Netherlands stop our lives for this festival while the Dutchies “above the rivers” don’t? Why do Brazilians celebrate? Or Germans? For most people, Carnival celebrations are simply a time to relax and reconnect with friends and family in a party atmosphere. But the celebration is inherently linked to religion (as well as pre-Christian traditions) and it’s slightly different in every place that it’s celebrated. Though the etymology of the word “carnival” is disputed by scholars, the folklore explanation traces the meaning to the Latin words for meat or flesh, carnem, and levare, meaning to remove. Carnival celebrations precede Ash Wednesday which is the official first day of Lent - the 40 days before Easter during which, according to Christian teachings, Jesus fasted in the desert. Historically, Christians were expected to emulate Jesus’ sacrifices by fasting - particularly by abstaining from eating meat and by using the period as a time of sober reflection on their religion. Therefore, the days leading up to this extended time of somber self-restraint gave rise to Carnival a sort of release valve for people to indulge in excesses of food, alcohol, and partying as well as a time to overturn deeply-entrenched social norms and roles. Carnival celebrations occur almost exclusively in traditionally Catholic countries and regions.
The Beach or Beer? Though Southern Dutchies and Eindhoven transplants alike are mostly focused on their own upcoming celebration, many foreigners think of Brazil when they think of Carnival - and its corresponding images of elaborate floats and scantily-clad beauties. However, the reality of Brazilian Carnival is somewhat different from what’s televised to the rest of the world. José Melo, 22, is a master’s student in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department. He’s from Recife - a coastal city in the northeast of Brazil - and says his city’s Carnival celebrations are
famous throughout both Brazil and the rest of the world: “People come from all over to celebrate in Recife. We have the biggest parade in the world which begins at dawn on Saturday with the Galo da Madrugada (“Rooster of the Dawn)”- a giant rooster that is the symbol of this parade. This is the official start of Carnival for us and for the rest of Brazilians.” And contrary to the cliché, José explains that Carnival is not necessarily only about drinking and dancing in the streets. “Lots of people don’t even do the block parties. They just go to the beach with their kids and friends. It’s summer in Brazil so schools are still on vacation. It’s a time to relax. In fact,we usually say that the year only starts after Carnival. People do go to work, of course, but they’re very lazy. Deadlines aren’t too strict during this time.” Jairo Borgas, 25, is from Rio de Janeiro and a mechanical engineering bachelor’s student at Fontys.“In Rio, we have two types of Carnival. The one you see on television with big cars and all the colors and the real Carnival in the streets. Because this is the time when our country is being broadcast to the rest of the world even poor people will spend a lot of money for a costume. I think Carnival is their moment.” When he was younger, Jairo’s activities during Carnival used to be quite different from how he now celebrates. “Both Catholics and Protestants in Brazil will sometimes do what we call “retiring.” This means that when other people are celebrating the flesh, we’ll go to nurture the spirit - it’s usually a retreat for three days to pray and study the Bible.”
Goodbye, Winter Carnival in Germany is a creature with many names -Fasching, Fastnacht, Fasnacht, Fasnet or Karneval- and is celebrated slightly differently depending on the region. Torben Schäfer, 25, is a master’s student in the Industrial Engineering
& Innovations Science Department and hails from the small city of Crailsheim, about an hour’s drive from Stuttgart. His childhood Fasching celebrations reflect a more pre-Christian focus on nature than anything dictated by the Catholic Church. “The idea was that you would say goodbye to the winter and welcome the spring. When I was in primary school, we’d walk through town making lots of noise to scare winter away. We’d then have a bonfire at the school. There would be other children’s events where you could dress up and eat lots of candy but no big parades or anything like that.” Master’s student Leander Hartenauer, Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, is from a small town close to Munster. His town celebrates Karneval and it’s a period when normal social mores are put aside for a few days. “Things in Germany are more formal than in the Netherlands and this is the time when things relax. The whole town gets together and you might, for example, see your friends’ parents at a party and drink and dance with them. People that you would normally treat respectfully are now just friends you hang out with in an informal atmosphere.” Karneval in Leander’s area of Germany is also about flipping social roles. He explains one tradition: “On the Thursday before the main celebrations begin there’s a day called Weiberfastnacht which is only for women. They’re supposed to cut men’s shoelaces or ties and most companies will have a party just for them before throwing one for all of the employees.” In some towns, women are also allowed on this day to grab any passing man they fancy and kiss them. Both Leander and Torben agree that if you want to experience German Carnival at its best, go to Cologne. Torben’s one experience of it left an impression: “It’s crazy! The entire city comes out to party. They really put a lot of effort into it.” Indeed, Cologne’s Carnival festivities are some of the oldest in the country and many of the traditions of that
city - such as using costumes and floats for political satire - stem from periods of occupation when residents used Carnival as a time to vent subversive anti-Prussian and anti-French sentiments.
Limburgers vs. Brabanters And last, but certainly not least, we have our own Dutch Carnival or Carnaval traditions right here in the south of the Netherlands. Why only the South, you ask? Though the majority of the Dutch are rather irreligious these days and Carnival celebrations are largely divorced from their historically religious overtones, the provinces “below the rivers” were traditionally the Dutch Catholic strongholds through French and Spanish occupation (merci, Napoleon). Meanwhile, Calvinistic Protestantism flourished in the North. (And let’s just say they frowned on partying…) Like celebrations in other countries, Dutch Carnival is characterized by copious amounts of beer, crazy behavior, costumes and a general break from everyday norms but with one main difference - the debate about who does it better. Limburger Stijn Zanders, 22, is getting his master’s in the Industrial Engineering & Innovations Sciences Department. “Limburgers say that they celebrate the REAL Carnival. I’m from Weert which is on the border between North Brabant and Limburg and I’d say the atmosphere is different in Limburg. People put a lot of money in their costumes and dress up really well and the music is more traditional.” Applied Mathematics bachelor’s student Arno Coppelmans, 19, is a member of the student organization, GEWIS, and was asked to be the group’s Prince Carnaval for this year’s celebrations. His job is to be the pivot point or leader of the festivities and to represent GEWIS with the university’s other student organizations. He says he feels honored to have been asked.
“I didn’t expect it. It means that many people know you and recognize that you know how to talk to others. I always look forward to Carnival but I’m really excited about it this year.” Though the role assumes a different meaning on a university campus, the tradition of electing a Prince Carnaval in the Netherlands (and Germany) - and ceremoniously giving him the keys to the city - was historically a handing over of power to the average citizens and providing them with the opportunity to criticize their “betters” without fear of retribution. These days, Stijn Zanders isn’t too concerned about who celebrates Carnival the best. He’s more interested in introducing Dutch Carnival to foreigners by organizing events for them through Estiem, the European student network for Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences. “We have students coming this year from Turkey, Hungary, Norway, Italy, even Belarus. For me, Carnival has always been about having a lot of fun and getting out of daily life. You can be someone different. I mainly hope that the students that are coming this year meet more friends and that we all take away some crazy stories. I want them to think back on this time and remember that it was really awesome.”
Text | Angela Daley Photo | Bart van Overbeeke
Carnival? Where and when? Carnival will be celebrated from Saturday, February 14th until Wednesday, February 18th. Where to go? Just follow the hordes of dressed-up people in the streets of Eindhoven. You can also check www.lampegatdegekste.nl.
26 | Research
5 February 2015
4 burning questions
Matthijs Cox | Applied Physics
Plastic magnetic field sensors
1 ’s on f your o r e ov the c rtation? disse What
2 Wh a peo t do y ou t ple a t par ell whe n t abo ut y they a ies our s rese k arch ?
1 | cover
3 What person, technology, or device has been essential for your research?
4
does w o H efit n e b ty socie our work? y from
(edited by Tom Jeltes) Photos | Bart van Overbeeke
You see an artistic impression of conducting, luminous polymers (black wire) that I researched, and the magnetic moments (golden arrows) of the charge carriers that play an important role in explaining my research results. It’s been self-made with Blender, open source render software. I recommend it to any creative soul!
2 | parties For years, I’ve been trying to develop and understand conducting, organic (i.e. plastic) material. It turns out these materials, being the latest pixels in your smart phone and curved TV, for example, are rather sensitive to magnetic fields. The physics behind all that is fascinating and displays parallels with how birds ‘see’ the geomagnetic field with specific molecules in their eyes.
3 | essential If you were to do everything yourself during a PhD, you won’t get very far. So, I’d like to thank my technical staff Gerrie and Jeroen, as well as all students I’ve supervised, as they’ve taken my PhD to a next level.
4 | society benefit Magnetic field sensors are everywhere. They’re in your smart phone, and they’re the read heads in your hard disk. If these can be made from cheap plastics, that’s a major commercial advantage. On top of that, we’d have created an extra application for plastic electronics, a rapidly expanding expertise with great impact on society.
Research | 27
See for more news www.cursor.tue.nl/en
Dulce Pérez Ferrández | Chemical Engineering
A greener way of making foams 1 | cover The bottom of my cover shows a blue molecule of propene oxide, which is on top of some gold containing catalyst particles. Producing this molecule was the ultimate goal of my research. The catalysts shown in the background produce the necessary chemical reactions.
2 | parties To produce the polyurethane foams that we have in our mattresses and the insulation of our homes, you need to combine smaller molecules that act as building blocks to form the desired chemical. Propene oxide is one of those important building blocks. My research focused on experimentally evaluating different chemical processes for the synthesis of propene oxide.
3 | essential The support of several people has been essential for my research project, witness the acknowledgements in my thesis. In the lab, I could not have conducted any experiment without a very versatile setup, which allowed me to test different gas phase reactions using a number of types of powder catalysts in a fully automated way.
4 | society benefit To minimize pollution and increase efficiency, production of chemicals should be as green as possible. This means reducing the amount of waste and energy. In the case of propene oxide, some of the existing processes release harmful chemicals, like chlorinated products. The alternatives I have researched are simpler, with water as the main by-product, which makes the processes more environmentally friendly.
Rik Moonen | Biomedical Engineering
Molecular MRI of arteriosclerosis 1 | cover What you see is a chalkboard sketch of a mouse and its circulatory system, with an MRI image of the heart and aortic arch inside. The other three images are take from my dissertation: from left to right, you see a fluoro MRI of liver and spleen, the molecular and cellular processes during the development of arteriosclerosis, and a series of MRI images put together to make a parametric (color) map.
2 | parties Arteriosclerosis is the basis of many cardiovascular diseases, and therefore an important cause of death. Complications like heart attacks and strokes occur when a plaque ruptures causing a clogging blood clot. Treatment is always determined by the narrowing of the blood vessel, even though we now know that doesn’t predict the chance of rupture. Molecular MRI uses contrast fluids to image the plaque composition and processes that cause rupture. Contrary to traditional MRI, these new techniques provide a quantitative measure that enables an objective assessment.
3 | essential The MRI techniques we’ve developed are pushing the boundaries of current possibilities. For that, we can’t do without state of the art MRI scanners.
4 | society benefit Molecular MRI might offer a better diagnosis and better treatment of arteriosclerosis in the future. It would be better for the patient, and it would save society a lot of money. On top of that , these techniques can be used in animal testing right away, as these non-invasive measurements can be repeated more often, so fewer mice are needed for drug testing for example.
Thursd ay
After-
5 Februar
Borre
y, 19:0 0
-21: l at TU COSM /e Com 00h, Commo It is Th OS is launch n Room mon R is clos ursday even ing After-Bo , Meta r in in r o e g g ls o . d T m w own. Y he last you dr Forum ith 2 e o o ‘b u u w r o o r n 0.090 e r ed piz re ali Well, A fter-Bo your stoma ze that in thl’ at TU Eindh zas. T U / ch in b e e rrels a o ven last fe C e re com your b ommon Roo ing to er. Know the w hours your re enviro uds and get t m and enjo feeling y2 nm scue, d ho ? is rop by not av ent in the h se night-out euro pizza, ailable eart of plans s chat w , only p it t o izzas ahe campus. rted in a cos h FYI: Alc y nd goo o d com pany. hol
7
8
11
februari,
lt: Is
Magistrale fil huis te verkopm over Kolya, die weigert zijn ouderlijk Leviathan is eeen aan de corrupte burgem n so m be re, pessimistis eester. die heel goed ch Rusland. De filte lezen is als satire op he e film, beste scenariom won in Cannes de prijs t huidige voor het . Voertaal: Russ Entreekosten ische film met Nederland : studenten 3, se 50 euro | ande ondertitels ren 7,50
iks anders t, rest Zeus n, als zijn vrouw. ap tr es ad H us er van zijn bro ore, een dochter van Ze us in de val Wanneer Ze nakomen. Hades wil KKore - dit hoort, zijn afspraak eter - de moeder van e vertelling over Wanneer Demlos. Een tragikomisch stelling legt de breekt de hel eenzaamheid. De voorluk onder de fde en ge liefde, eer en van de mens rang naar lie menselijke dwaardoor de wreedheid p microscoo ordt. zichtbaar w Soghomonyan Isa Erhardt, Regie: Gegamubbelman, Bas Alers, D e n n i Lello Spel: A inic, Paola D Kristijan Trn reserveren.doppio.nl Reserveren: : standaard 8,- euro | Entreekosten euro Student 4,-
9
Lezing Arn e van Ooste rom, founder @ DesignThin kers
10
Leviathan
e Doppio spe
Maandag feb eerste verdie ruari, 17:00-19:30 uur, ping MultiM ediaPaviljoe TU/e-campu n, s
9
Maandag , dinsdag en woensdag februari, 20:0 0 -2 2 :2 0 uur, Gaslab, TU/e -campus
ondag rdag en z te a z , ri a ru b s ? Vrijdag fe ur, Gaslab, TU/e-campu ng voor mij 0u a b :0 3 d 2 n a 0 :0 m 0 ie 2 er dan n op dan
6
don’t TU/e and Eindhoven so you Cursor collects all events at , and nts eve ic athletic and academ have to. Symposiums, films, notify can You nl. ue. or.t urs w.c at ww to parties: you can find them all ail em an d sen website, please e us of new events through our her will ine gaz Ma sor Cur do so. cursor@tue.nl if you want to ing happenings. publish a selection of upcom
Hierbij nodig raken door A t ESBC je uit om maan Academy & rne van Oosterom, de dag 9 februari vanaf 17.0 teams verspDesignThinkers Networoprichter van DesignTh 0 uur geïnspireerd te inkers, Desig Thinkers voorreid over Europa, Noordk, oftewel de DesignThin nThinkers Het is gespec bedrijven als Philips, - en Zuid-Amerika, Azi kers Group. Met vijftien ë M teams. Het ui ialiseerd in het bouwen ichelin, Coca-Cola, B en Australië werkt Des haar cliënte teindelijke doel hiervan en faciliteren van creaosch en Volkswagen. ign n en het creë ti ren van duu is het versterken van d eve multidisciplinaire rzame busin e innovatiekr http://www es acht van s. .esbc.nl Voertaal even ement: Ned erlands
Tuesda y Feb 17:45-2 0:30h, ruary, Auditor TU/e ca ium, mpus M
10
aster’s event for TU /e stud ents Infoma rke
t, op tations ening presen ta gradua te prog tion and Event la rams. nguage : Englis h presen
h, February, 18:00 centre Tuesday e er th Eindhoven ov l al s se ou th in studen
10
Stukafest
an and study books, idst beer crates comedian at the dinner am ce an rm rfo A stunning pe recital under a loft bed or a e centre of Eindhoven are intimate literaryukafest, 13 student rooms in th tre, literature, poetry, table. During St mini stages where music, thea transformed into e are the main focus. cabaret and danc oven/ kafest.nl/eindh http://www.stu50 euro Entrance fee: 4,
11
Woensdag februari, 12:40-13:35 uu r, Blauwe Zaal, Auditoriu m, TU/e-campus
TINKEBELL. provoc eert over kunst, actie, onrecht, hatem ails en media ‘En wie
nu nog durft te beweren dat kunstenaars geen inv die kan door de stront zak loed hebben, provocerende kunstenaa ken.’ Maak kennis met TINKEBELL., een vlekken van de moderne r. In haar kunst zoekt ze naar de blinde samenleving en legt die bloot. Entreekosten: gratis